Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Every action counts when it comes to caring for the environment and that is what the aviation industry in India, which is the third largest domestic civil aviation market in the world, is doing. It is taking small but significant steps to help reduce air and noise pollution.

In October, the Israel Aerospace Industries-designed and TLD, France-manufactured TaxiBots (taxiing robots) were introduced at Delhi airport. The two robots will help airlines push their aircraft to a point short of the runway where they can start their engines for take-off.

Without the robots, the aircraft has to be tugged by a ground vehicle to the Tug Detach Point (TDP), which is normally reached within 1.5 to 2 minutes.

Following this, the aircraft has to switch on its engines and taxi to the runway. The engine having to start early for a flight means that the aircraft uses expensive aviation turbine fuel (ATF), leading to both noise and air pollution as carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere.

Delaying the switch-on
KSU Aviation Private Ltd, the company that has introduced TaxiBots at Delhi airport, estimates that a TaxiBot helps delay the switching on of an aircraft engine by 10 to 12 minutes.

“With TaxiBot, an aircraft can start engines close to the main runway. The engines will be turned on shortly before take-off to enable a pilot to do warm-up and checks,” says Ashwani Khanna, Consultant to the project.

A TaxiBot is essentially a semi-robotic tow truck or what Khanna calls an alternate aircraft taxiing device. Khanna further says, “TaxiBot is the only solution which is certified in the world,” adding that India is the only country in the world where this is being used commercially.
21/11/18 Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line